Treaty of Vereeniging | Voices Education Project Voices Education Project Words & Violence Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging (commonly referred to as Peace of Vereeniging) was the peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the South African War (Second Anglo-Boer War) between the alliance of the South African Republic and the Republic of the Orange Free State and the British Empire on the other. This settlement provided for the end of hostilities and eventual self-government to the Transvaal (South African Republic) and the Orange Free State as colonies of the British Empire. The Boer republics agreed to come under the sovereignty of the British Crown and the British government agreed on various details. Signatories For the United Kingdom, His Excellency Lord Milner, High Commissioner and Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, who signed the treaty as "Kitchener of Khartoum". For the Government of the South African Republic, Messrs Schalk W. Burger, F.W. Reitz, Louis Botha, J. H. de la Rey, L.J. Meyer, and J.C. Krogh.

For the Government of the Orange Free State, Messrs C.R. de Wet, J.B.M. Hertzog, C.H. Olivier and WCJ Bebner. The signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging at Melrose House, Pretoria, on 31 May 1902 by Douglas Macpherson The Treaty in Summary This settlement entailed the end of hostilities and the surrender of all Boer forces and their arms to the British, with the promise of eventual self-government to the Transvaal (South African Republic) and the Orange Free State as colonies of the British Empire. The Boer republics agreed to come under the sovereignty of the British Crown and the British government agreed on various details including the following: All Boer fighters of both republics had to give themselves up All combatants would be disarmed Everyone had to swear allegiance to the Crown No death penalties would be dealt out A general amnesty would apply The use of Dutch (later Afrikaans) would be allowed in the schools and law courts. To eventually give the Transvaal and the Orange Free State self-government (civil government was granted in 1906 and 1907, respectively).

To avoid discussing the native (Black) enfranchisement issue until self-government had been given. To pay the Afrikaners £3,000,000 in reconstruction aid. Property rights of Boers would be respected No land taxes would be introduced Registered private guns would be allowed Subsequent to the British government giving the Boer colonies self-government, the Union of South Africa was created on 31 May 1910. The Union gained relative independence under the 1926 Imperial Conference and the 1931 Statute of Westminster. The country became a republic in 1961 therefore severing all connections with Great Britain. Although the treaty is named after the town of Vereeniging in Transvaal, where the peace negotiations took place, the document was actually signed at Melrose House in Pretoria.

Treaty of Vereeniging Treaty of Vereeniging Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging (commonly referred to as Peace of Vereeniging) was the peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the South African War (Second Anglo-Boer War) between the alliance of the South African Republic and the Republic of the Orange Free State and the British Empire on the other. This settlement provided for the end of hostilities and eventual self-government to the Transvaal (South African Republic) and the Orange Free State as colonies of the British Empire. The Boer republics agreed to come under the sovereignty of the British Crown and the British government agreed on various details. Signatories For the United Kingdom, His Excellency Lord Milner, High Commissioner and Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, who signed the treaty as "Kitchener of Khartoum". For the Government of the South African Republic, Messrs Schalk W. Burger, F.W. Reitz, Louis Botha, J. H. de la Rey, L.J. Meyer, and J.C. Krogh.

For the Government of the Orange Free State, Messrs C.R. de Wet, J.B.M. Hertzog, C.H. Olivier and WCJ Bebner. The signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging at Melrose House, Pretoria, on 31 May 1902 by Douglas Macpherson The Treaty in Summary This settlement entailed the end of hostilities and the surrender of all Boer forces and their arms to the British, with the promise of eventual self-government to the Transvaal (South African Republic) and the Orange Free State as colonies of the British Empire. The Boer republics agreed to come under the sovereignty of the British Crown and the British government agreed on various details including the following: All Boer fighters of both republics had to give themselves up All combatants would be disarmed Everyone had to swear allegiance to the Crown No death penalties would be dealt out A general amnesty would apply The use of Dutch (later Afrikaans) would be allowed in the schools and law courts. To eventually give the Transvaal and the Orange Free State self-government (civil government was granted in 1906 and 1907, respectively).

To avoid discussing the native (Black) enfranchisement issue until self-government had been given. To pay the Afrikaners £3,000,000 in reconstruction aid. Property rights of Boers would be respected No land taxes would be introduced Registered private guns would be allowed Subsequent to the British government giving the Boer colonies self-government, the Union of South Africa was created on 31 May 1910. The Union gained relative independence under the 1926 Imperial Conference and the 1931 Statute of Westminster. The country became a republic in 1961 therefore severing all connections with Great Britain. Although the treaty is named after the town of Vereeniging in Transvaal, where the peace negotiations took place, the document was actually signed at Melrose House in Pretoria.

Peace of Vereeniging | South Africa [1902] | Britannica.com Peace of Vereeniging Treaty of Shimonoseki Peace of Vereeniging, (May 31, 1902), treaty that ended the South African War , or Boer War; it was signed in Pretoria , after initial Boer approval in Vereeniging , between representatives of the British and ex-republican Boer governments. It ended the independence of the South African Republic (i.e., Transvaal) and the Orange Free State , which came under British military administration. A general amnesty was declared, burghers were to be disarmed, and a commission was appointed with a grant of £3,000,000 to reconstruct the Transvaal. Clause VIII left the question of a voting franchise for nonwhites to be settled after the defeated Boers had been granted self-government. Thus, black Africans were left without the vote (except in the Cape Colony) when South Africa was unified in 1910.

Learn More in these related articles: Black, Coloured, and Indian political responses However, the Treaty of Vereeniging (see Vereeniging, Peace of ) withdrew such promises, and a sense of betrayal stimulated political protest, especially among mission-educated blacks. Various organizations arose to counter the impending union of white-ruled provinces by ethnically and regionally uniting blacks. In response to the constitutional convention, blacks... The South African War (1899–1902) Boer forces, which at the end consisted of about 20,000 exhausted and demoralized troops, sued for peace in May 1902. The Treaty of Vereeniging reflected the conclusive military victory of British power but made a crucial concession. It promised that the “question of granting the franchise to natives [blacks]” would be addressed only after self-government had been restored to the... More about Peace of Vereeniging 6 References found in Britannica Articles Assorted References role of de Wet (in Christiaan Rudolf de Wet ) history of Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email.

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Close Article Title: Peace of Vereeniging Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica Date Published: October 24, 2003 URL: Access Date: December 30, 2016 Share The Treaty of Vereeniging by Michael Enright, IB Diploma 2005 The Treaty of Vereeniging was the treaty that officially ended the Boer War. The Treaty of Vereeniging was a result of the Vereeniging Peace Conference. The Vereeniging Peace Conference: Peace began to seem attainable in the early weeks of 1902. In January of that year the Queen of the Netherlands even offered to mediate between Britain and the Bores; however, the British Government declined her offer. Though that specific resolution did not work, it opened the door to consideration of peace agreements. The British felt that it would be customary for the Boers to just admit defeat and give in “like other beaten people” but they did not. Instead, on April 26, 1902, the British sent two officers with a safe conduct pass to Boer General Jan Christian Smuts.

The pass allowed him to travel to Vereeniging by rail or sea for peace talks between British and Boer leaders. In the course of the conference, the Boers offered what Kruger would not offer at the beginning of the war. Things like reasonable voting rights for the uitlanders and equality of English and Afrikaans languages; however, the Boers still retained too much desire for national independence making the terms of this agreement unrealistic. The Boers would have to give up their national independence so they said that before they were to do that it would be necessary to consult commandos and Boer prisoners; however, the British and Boers agreed that only the commandos would be consulted since it was uncertain what the prisoners would want and they did not want them to say that they wanted the war to continue. The Boers called thirty delegates from the Transvaal and thirty from the Orange Free State to participate in a large conference at Vereeniging to discuss terms of peace. The two groups of delegates met in May and the meeting seemed to be doomed to deadlock from the beginning as the Transvaal commandos wanted to end the war and the Orange Free State forces were resolved to continue the war to victory to ensure their independence.

The Orange Free State votes ultimately were cancelled in the conference because Smuts alluded to the fact that, by law, a delegate must be “plenipotentiary” meaning he had power to vote for what he thought best and not be a “mouthpiece” for those who had elected them. The conference pressed on and delegates still hoped to retain some modified independence despite the situation. However, the British maintained the idea that the Boers would have to admit defeat and give up their independence. The British then offered the Boers generous terms, which included nearly all of the things that the Boers wanted except for their independence. Their conditions stated that first; “rebels” would not be punished except for losing their voting rights for life. Second, Boers were to lay down their arms and “abstain from any further opposition to the authority of His Majesty King Edward VII….” Britain also offered to require that Afrikaans language be taught in school if demanded, and that rifles would be available by license to those who needed them for protection. Moreover Britain offered to pay 3,000,000 pounds to rebuild the conquered state.

Finally, the terms were accepted under the impression that a liberal government would soon control Britain and allow a constitution for the Transvaal. Peace of Vereeniging - Wikisource, the free online library Peace of Vereeniging Peace of Vereeniging (Treaty of Vereeniging) Governments of the United Kingdom, the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State The Treaty of Vereeniging (commonly referred to as Peace of Vereeniging) was the peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the South African War ( Second Anglo-Boer War ) between the South African Republic and the Republic of the Orange Free State on one side and United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided for the end of hostilities and eventual self-government to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State as colonies of the British Empire . The Boer republics agreed to come under the sovereignty of the British Crown and the British government agreed on various details.

4632Peace of Vereeniging (Treaty of Vereeniging)Governments of the United Kingdom, the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State Treaty[ edit ] Peace Treaty of Vereeniging: 31 May 1902 THE FOLLOWING NOTICE is hereby published for general information. By order of His Excellency the High Commissioner and Administrator of the Transvaal. WE Davidson, Acting Secretary to the Transvaal Administration -3rd June 1902. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, SOUTH AFRICA General Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, Commander in Chief AND His Excellency Lord Milner, High Commissioner, on behalf of the BRITISH GOVERNMENT, AND Messrs S.W. Burger, F.W. Reitz, Louis Botha, J.H. de la Rey, LJ. Meyer, and J.C. Krogh, acting as the GOVERNMENT of the SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC, AND Messrs W.J.C. Brebner, C.R. de Wet, J.B.M. Hertzog, and C.H.

Olivier, acting as the GOVERNMENT of the ORANGE FREE STATE, on behalf of their respective BURGHERS Desirous to terminate the present hostilities, agree on the following Articles. The BURGHER Forces in the Field will forthwith lay down their Arms, handing over all Guns, Rifles, and Munitions of War, in their possession or under their control, and desist from any further resistance to the Authority of HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII, whom they recognise as their lawful SOVEREIGN. The Manner and details of this surrender will be arranged between Lord Kitchener and Commandant General Botha, Assistant Commandant General de la Rey and Chief Commandant De Wet. Burghers in the field outside the limits of the TRANSVAAL and ORANGE RIVER COLONY, and all Prisoners of War at present outside South Africa, who are burghers, will, on duly declaring their acceptance of the position of subjects of HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII, be gradually brought back to their homes as soon as transport can be provided and their means of subsistence ensured.

The BURGHERS so surrendering or so returning will not be deprived of their personal liberty, or their property. No proceedings CIVIL or CRIMINAL will be taken against any of the BURGHERS so surrendering or so returning for any Acts in connection with the prosecution of the War. The benefit of this clause will not extend to certain Acts contrary to the usage of War which have been notified by the Commander in Chief to the Boer Generals, and which shall be tried by Court Martial immediately after the close of hostilities. The DUTCH language will be taught in Public Schools in the TRANSVAAL and the ORANGE RIVER COLONY where the Parents of the Children desire it, and will be allowed in COURTS of LAW when necessary for the better and more effectual Administration of Justice. The Possession of Rifles will be allowed in the TRANSVAAL and ORANGE RIVER COLONY to persons requiring them for their protection on taking out a licence according to Law.

MILITARY ADMINISTRATION in the TRANSVAAL and ORANGE RIVER COLONY will at the earliest possible date be succeeded by CIVIL GOVERNMENT, and, as soon as circumstances permit, Representative Institutions, leading up to self-Government, will be introduced. The question of granting the Franchise to Natives will not be decided until after the introduction of Self-Government. No Special Tax will be imposed on Landed Property in the TRANSVAAL and ORANGE RIVER COLONY to defray the Expenses of the War. As soon as conditions permit, a Commission, on which the local inhabitants will be represented, will be appointed in each District of the TRANSVAAL and ORANGE RIVER COLONY, under the Presidency of a Magistrate or other official, for the purpose of assisting the restoration of the people to their homes and supplying those who, owing to war losses, are unable to provide for themselves, with food, shelter, and the necessary amount of seed, stock, implements etc. indispensable to the resumption of their normal occupations. His Majesty's Government will place at the disposal of these Commissions a sum of three million pounds sterling for the above purposes, and will allow all notes, issued under Law No.

1 of 1900 of the Government of the SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC, and all receipts, given by the officers in the field of the late Republics or under their orders, to be presented to a JUDICIAL COMMISSION, which will be appointed by the Government, and if such notes and receipts are found by this Commission to have been duly issued in return for valuable consideration they will be received by the first-named Commissions as evidence of War losses suffered by the persons to whom they were originally given. In addition to the above named free grant of three million pounds, His Majesty's Government will be prepared to make advances as loans for the same purpose, free of interest for two years, and afterwards repayable over a period of years with 3 per cent interest. No foreigner or rebel will be entitled to the benefit of this Clause. Signed at Pretoria this thirty first day of May in the Year of Our Lord Thousand Nine Hundred and Two.

[Signed] KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM, MILNER, S W BURGER, F W REITZ, LOUIS BOTHA, J H DE LA REY, L J MEYER, J C KROGH, C R DE WET, J B M HERTZOG, WJ C BREBNER, C .H OLIVIER The Peace of Vereeniging | History Today The Peace of Vereeniging South Africa Military On May 31st, 1902, the Peace of Vereeniging was signed, ending the Second Boer War between Britain and the two Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The Second Boer War between Britain and the two Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State lasted a little over two-and-a-half years from October 1899. The Boers were inevitably outmatched, but even in the last phase, from September 1900, the brilliant Boer guerrilla commanders Christiaan de Wet, Koos de la Rey and Jan Smuts harried British bases and disrupted British communications.

The war was being lost all the same as the British commander-in-chief, Lord Kitchener, systematically destroyed Boer farms and packed their inhabitants – mainly the women and children – into concentration camps where epidemics of fever and measles carried off more than 20,000 of them. Attempts to make peace failed in 1901, but the Boer position was growing desperate and in April 1902, under safe conduct from Kitchener, six Boer leaders conferred at Klerksdorp in Transvaal – President Schalk Burger, Louis Botha and de la Rey from Transvaal and President M.T. Steyn of the Orange Free State with de Wet and J.B.Hertzog. Though Steyn, de Wet and de la Rey wanted to fight to the bitter end, it was decided to seek a meeting with Kitchener and the British in Pretoria on April 12th. The Afrikaners were still insisting on their independence, which the British were not prepared to concede. Indeed, the hard-line British High Commissioner, Lord Milner, was demanding unconditional surrender.

Kitchener, however, struck up an amicable relationship with Botha and most of the other Boer leaders and at his suggestion on April 18th they left to consult their commandos. On May 15th sixty delegates, thirty each from Transvaal and the Free State, met in a capacious marquee at Vereeniging, forty miles south-east of Johannesburg, to consider the situation. They all agreed they were suffering severely from shortage of horses, shortage of food and the state of their women and children – not the ones in the concentration camps, but the ones who had stayed with their men in the field. There was also an alarming flow of Boers joining the British and the threat of the black African chiefs taking a hand against the Afrikaners. Burger, Botha and Smuts urged peace. Burger maintained that they all knew there was no realistic possibility of continuing the struggle successfully. Botha said, ‘Terms might now be secured which would save the language, our ancient customs and national ideals.

The fatal thing would be to secure no terms at all and yet be forced to surrender.’ Even de la Rey, an arch bitter-ender, said that everything had been sacrificed – cattle, goods, money, wives and children – and asked, ‘Isn’t this the bitter end?’ Steyn and de Wet were still digging their heels in, but they were in a minority and on the 17th a delegation of five – Botha, de Wet, de la Rey, Smuts and Hertzog – was sent to Pretoria to negotiate peace with Kitchener and Milner. Milner’s dictatorial attitude infuriated de Wet, but Kitchener diplomatically smoothed things over and a sub-committee was appointed to draw up peace terms in proper legal form. Kitchener meanwhile quietly dropped the word in Smuts’s ear that he expected the government in London to fall within two years and a new administration might well agree to alter the settlement to the Afrikaners’ advantage. The terms were presented to the Boers at Vereeniging on the 21st and, against Milner’s advice, the British government cabled acceptance on the 27th.

An agonised final debate followed at Vereeniging, but Steyn, who was ill, withdrew on health grounds and de Wet was eventually won over. Soon after 2pm on the 31st the terms were accepted by a vote of fifty-four to six. There were tears in many eyes. Burger and de Wet hurried to Pretoria by train and signed the treaty with Kitchener and Milner shortly before midnight. Boer independence was lost as the two republics accepted British sovereignty, but the treaty promised eventual self-government and the British conceded a general amnesty and a grant of £3 million (perhaps £175 million today) for restoring and restocking Boer farms, in addition to generous loans. The Vereeniging delegates returned to their commandos to break the news. The men were assembled to hand over their rifles and take an oath of allegiance to Edward VII. A British officer saw de la Rey’s tough fighting men fire off their ammunition in the air and smash the butts of their rifles before handing them over to British troops. After which they fell to fraternising cheerfully with the British soldiers ‘in a most sociable way’.

The Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902) By Tarkan Rosenberg, Contributing Writer Updated May 11, 2016. From October 11, 1899 until May 31, 1902, the Second Boer War (also known as the South African War and the Anglo-Boer War) was fought in South Africa between the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers in southern Africa). The Boers had founded two independent South African republics (the Orange Free State and the South African Republic) and had a long history of distrust and dislike for the British that surrounded them. After gold was discovered in the South African Republic in 1886, the British wanted the area under their control.

In 1899, the conflict between the British and the Boers burgeoned into a full-fledged war that was fought in three stages: a Boer offensive against British command posts and railway lines, a British counteroffensive that brought the two republics under British control, and a Boer guerrilla resistance movement that prompted a widespread scorched-earth campaign by the British and the internment and deaths of thousands of Boer civilians in British concentration camps. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know The first phase of the war gave the Boers the upper hand over British forces, but the latter two phases eventually brought victory to the British and placed the previously independent Boer territories firmly under British dominion -- leading, eventually, to the complete unification of South Africa as a British colony in 1910. Who Were the Boers? In 1652, the Dutch East India Company established the first staging post at the Cape of Good Hope (the southernmost tip of Africa); this was a place where ships could rest and resupply during the long voyage to the exotic spice markets along India’s western coast.

This staging post attracted settlers from Europe for whom life on the continent had become unbearable due to economic difficulties and religious oppression. At the turn of the 18th century, the Cape had become home to settlers from Germany and France; however, it was the Dutch who made up the majority of the settler population. They came to be known as “Boers”’—the Dutch word for farmers. As time passed, a number of Boers began migrating to the hinterlands where they believed they would have more autonomy to conduct their daily lives without the heavy regulations imposed on them by the Dutch East India Company. The British Move Into South Africa Britain, who viewed the Cape as an excellent staging post on route to their colonies in Australia and India, attempted to take control over Cape Town from the Dutch East India Company, which had effectively gone bankrupt. In 1814, Holland officially handed the colony over to the British Empire. Almost immediately, the British began a campaign to “Anglicize” the colony. English became the official language, rather than Dutch, and official policy encouraged the immigration of settlers from Great Britain. The issue of slavery became another point of contention.

Britain officially abolished the practice in 1834 throughout their empire, which meant that the Cape’s Dutch settlers also had to relinquish their ownership of black slaves. The British did offer compensation to the Dutch settlers for relinquishing their slaves, but this compensation was seen as insufficient and their anger was compounded by the fact that the compensation had to be collected in London, some 6,000 miles way. Boer Independence The tension between Great Britain and South Africa’s Dutch settlers eventually prompted many Boers to move their families further into South Africa’s interior—away from British control—where they could establish an autonomous Boer state. This migration from Cape Town into the South African hinterland from 1835 to the early 1840s came to be known as “The Great Trek.” (Dutch settlers who remained in Cape Town, and thus under British rule, became known as Afrikaners .) The Boers came to embrace a new-found sense of nationalism and sought to establish themselves as an independent Boer nation, dedicated to Calvinism and a Dutch way of life.

By 1852, a settlement was reached between the Boers and the British Empire granting sovereignty to those Boers who had settled beyond the Vaal River in the northeast. The 1852 settlement and another settlement, reached in 1854, brought about the creation of two independent Boer republics—the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The Boers now had their own home. The First Boer War Despite the Boers’ newly won autonomy, their relationship with the British continued to be tense. The two Boer republics were financially unstable and still relied heavily on British help. The British, conversely, distrusted the Boers—viewing them as quarrelsome and thickheaded. In 1871, the British moved to annex the diamond territory of the Griqua People, which had previously been incorporated by the Orange Free State. Six years later, the British annexed the Transvaal, which was plagued by bankruptcy and endless squabbles with native populations. These moves angered Dutch settlers throughout South Africa.

In 1880, after first allowing the British to defeat their common Zulu enemy, the Boers finally rose up in rebellion, taking up arms against the British with the purpose of reclaiming the Transvaal. The crisis is known as the First Boer War. The First Boer War lasted only a few short months, from December 1880 until March 1881. It was a disaster for the British, who had greatly underestimated the military skill and efficiency of the Boer militia units. In the early weeks of the war, a group of less than 160 Boer militiamen attacked a British regiment, killing 200 British soldiers in 15 minutes. In late February 1881, the British lost a total of 280 soldiers at Majuba, while the Boers are said to have suffered only one single casualty. Britain’s Prime Minister William E. Gladstone forged a compromise peace with the Boers that granted the Transvaal self-government while still keeping it as an official colony of Great Britain. The compromise did little to appease the Boers and tension between the two sides continued.

In 1884, Transvaal President Paul Kruger successfully renegotiated the original agreement. Although control of foreign treaties remained with Britain, Britain did, however, drop the Transvaal’s official status as a British colony. The Transvaal was then officially renamed the South African Republic. Gold The discovery of roughly 17,000 square miles of gold fields in Witwatersrand in 1886, and the subsequent opening of those fields for public digging, would make the Transvaal region the prime destination for gold diggers from all over the globe. The 1886 gold rush not only transformed the poor, agrarian South African Republic into an economic powerhouse, it also caused a great deal of turmoil for the young republic. The Boers were leery of the foreign prospectors—whom they dubbed “Uitlanders” (“outlanders”)—pouring into their country from across the world to mine the Witwatersrand fields. Tensions between Boers and Uitlanders eventually prompted Kruger to adopt harsh laws that would limit the general freedoms of the Uitlanders and seek to protect Dutch culture in the region.

These included policies to limit access to education and press for Uitlanders, making the Dutch language obligatory, and keeping the Uitlanders disenfranchised. These policies further eroded relations between Great Britain and the Boers as many of those rushing to the gold fields were British sovereigns. Also, the fact that Britain’s Cape Colony had now slipped into the South African Republic’s economic shadow, made Great Britain even more determined to secure its African interests and to bring the Boers to heel. The Jameson Raid The outrage expressed against Kruger’s harsh immigration policies caused many in the Cape colony and in Britain itself to anticipate a widespread Uitlander uprising in Johannesburg. Among them was the Cape Colony’s prime minister and diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes was a staunch colonialist and thus believed Britain should acquisition the Boer territories (as well as the gold fields there). Rhodes sought to exploit Uitlander discontent in the Transvaal and pledged to invade the Boer republic in the event of an uprising by Uitlanders. He entrusted 500 Rhodesian (Rhodesia having been named after him) mounted police to his agent, Dr. Leander Jameson.

Jameson had express instructions not to enter the Transvaal until an Uitlander uprising was underway. Jameson ignored his instructions and on December 31, 1895, entered the territory only to be captured by Boer militiamen. The event, known as the Jameson Raid , was a debacle and forced Rhodes to resign as the Cape’s prime minister. The Jameson raid only served to increase tension and distrust between the Boers and the British. Kruger’s continued harsh policies against the Uitlanders and his cozy relationship with Britain’s colonial rivals, continued to fuel the empire’s ire towards the Transvaal republic during the waning years of the 1890s. Paul Kruger’s election to a fourth term as president of the South African Republic in 1898, finally convinced Cape politicians that the only way to deal with the Boers would be through the use of force. After several failed attempts at reaching a compromise, the Boers had had their fill and by September of 1899 were preparing for full war with the British Empire. That same month the Orange Free State publicly declared its support for Kruger.

The Ultimatum On October 9th, Alfred Milner, the governor of the Cape Colony, received a telegram from authorities in the Boer capital of Pretoria. The telegram laid out a point-by-point ultimatum. The ultimatum demanded peaceful arbitration, the removal of British troops along their border, British troop reinforcements be recalled, and that British reinforcements who were coming via ship not land. The British replied that no such conditions could be met and by the evening of October 11, 1899, Boer forces began crossing over the borders into Cape Province and Natal. The Second Boer War had begun. The Second Boer War Begins: The Boer Offensive Neither the Orange Free State nor the South African Republic commanded large, professional armies. Their forces, instead, consisted of militias called “commandos” that consisted of “burghers” (citizens). Any burgher between the ages of 16 and 60 was liable to be called up to serve in a commando and each often brought their own rifles and horses.

A commando consisted of anywhere between 200 and 1,000 burghers and was headed by a “Kommandant” who was elected by the commando itself. Commando members, furthermore, were allowed to sit as equals in general councils of war to which they often brought their own individual ideas about tactics and strategy. The Boers who made up these commandos were excellent shots and horsemen, as they had to learn to survive in a very hostile environment from a very young age. Growing up in the Transvaal meant that one often had protect one’s settlements and herds against lions and other predators. This made the Boer militias a formidable enemy. The British, on the other hand, were experienced with leading campaigns on the African continent and yet were completely unprepared for a full-scale war. Thinking that this was a mere squabble that would soon be resolved, the British lacked reserves in ammunition and equipment; plus, they had no suitable military maps available for use either. The Boers took advantage of the British’s ill-preparedness and moved quickly in the early days of the war.

Commandos spread out in several directions from the Transvaal and Orange Free State, besieging three railway towns—Mafeking, Kimberley and Ladysmith —in order to impede the transport of British reinforcements and equipment from the coast. The Boers also won several major battles during the early months of the war. Most notably these were the battles of Magersfontein, Colesberg and Stormberg, which all occurred during what became known as “Black Week” between December 10 and 15, 1899. Despite this successful initial offensive, the Boers never sought to occupy any of the British-held territories in South Africa; they focused instead on besieging supply lines and ensuring that the British were too undersupplied and disorganized to launch their own offensive. In the process, the Boers greatly taxed their resources and their failure to push further into British-held territories allowed the British time to resupply their armies from the coast. The British may have faced defeat early on but the tide was about to turn. Phase Two: The British Resurgence By January of 1900, neither the Boers (despite their many victories) nor the British had made much headway.

The Boer sieges of strategic British rail lines continued but the Boer militias were rapidly growing weary and low on supplies. The British government decided it was time to gain the upper hand and sent two troop divisions to South Africa, which included volunteers from colonies like Australia and New Zealand. This amounted to roughly 180,000 men—the largest army Britain had ever sent overseas to this point. With these reinforcements, the disparity between the numbers of troops was huge, with 500,000 British soldiers but only 88,000 Boers. By late February, British forces had managed to move up strategic railway lines and finally relieve Kimberley and Ladysmith from Boer besiegement. The Battle of Paardeberg , which lasted nearly ten days, saw a major defeat of Boer forces. Boer general Piet Cronjé surrendered to the British along with more than 4,000 men. A series of further defeats greatly demoralized the Boers, who were also plagued by starvation and disease brought on by months of sieges with little to no supply relief. Their resistance began to collapse.

By March 1900, British forces led by Lord Frederick Roberts had occupied Bloemfontein (the capital of the Orange Free State) and by May and June they had taken Johannesburg and the South African Republic’s capital, Pretoria. Both republics were annexed by the British Empire. Boer leader Paul Kruger escaped capture and went into exile in Europe, where much of the population’s sympathy lay with the Boer cause. Squabbles erupted within Boer ranks between the bittereinders (“bitter-enders”) who wanted to keep fighting and those hendsoppers (“hands-uppers”) who favored surrender. Many Boer burghers did end up surrendering at this point, but about 20,000 others decided to fight on. The last, and most destructive, phase of the war was about to begin. Despite the British victories, the guerrilla phase would last more than two years. Phase Three: Guerrilla Warfare, Scorched Earth, and Concentration Camps Despite having annexed both Boer republics, the British barely managed to control either one.

The guerrilla war that was launched by resistant burghers and led by generals Christiaan de Wet and Jacobus Hercules de la Rey , kept the pressure on British forces throughout the Boer territories. Rebel Boer commandos relentlessly raided British communication lines and army bases with swift, surprise attacks often conducted at night. Rebel commandos had the ability to form on a moment’s notice, conduct their attack and then vanish as if into thin air, confusing British forces who barely knew what had hit them. The British response to the guerrillas was three-fold. Firstly, Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener , commander of the South African British forces, decided to set up barbed wire and blockhouses along the railway lines to keep the Boers at bay. When this tactic failed, Kitchener decided to adopt a “scorched earth” policy that systematically sought to destroy food supplies and deprive the rebels of shelter. Whole towns and thousands of farms were plundered and burned; livestock were killed. Lastly, and perhaps most controversially, Kitchener ordered the construction of concentration camps in which thousands of women and children—mostly those left homeless and destitute by his scorched earth policy— were interred.

The concentration camps were severely mismanaged. Food and water were scarce in the camps and starvation and disease caused the deaths of over 20,000. Black Africans were also interred in segregated camps primarily as a source of cheap labor for gold mines. The camps were widely criticized, especially in Europe where British methods in the war were already under heavy scrutiny. Kitchener’s reasoning was that the interment of civilians would not only further deprive the burghers of food, which had been supplied to them by their wives on the homestead, but that it would prompt the Boers to surrender in order to be reunited with their families. Most notable among the critics in Britain was Liberal activist Emily Hobhouse, who worked tirelessly to expose the conditions in the camps to an outraged British public. The revelation of the camp system severely damaged the reputation of Britain’s government and furthered the cause for Boer nationalism abroad. Peace Nevertheless, the strong-arm tactics of the British against the Boers eventually served their purpose. The Boer militias grew weary of fighting and morale was breaking down. The British had offered peace terms in March of 1902, but to no avail.

By May of that year, however, Boer leaders finally accepted peace conditions and signed the Treaty of Vereeniging on May 31, 1902. The treaty officially ended the independence of both the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and placed both territories under British army administration. The treaty also called for the immediate disarmament of the burghers and included a provision for funds to be made available for the reconstruction of the Transvaal. The Second Boer War had come to an end and eight years later, in 1910, South Africa was united under British dominion and became the Union of South Africa.

Treaty of Vereeniging - Oxford Reference Oxford Reference Ancient history (non-classical to 500 CE) Early history (500 CE to 1500) Early Modern History (1500 to 1700) modern history (1700 to 1945) Contemporary History (post 1945) Literary studies (early and medieval) Literary studies (19th century) Literary studies (20th century onwards) Literary studies - fiction, novelists, and prose writers Literary studies - plays and playwrights Literary studies - poetry and poets Literary theory and cultural studies Shakespeare studies and criticism Social Welfare and Social Services Sociology Show all results sharing these subjects: History Quick Reference (31 May 1902) The peace treaty that ended the Second Boer War. It provided for the acceptance by Boers of British sovereignty, the use of Afrikaans in schools and law courts, a civil administration leading to self-government, a repatriation commission, and compensation of £3 million for the destruction inflicted during the war on Boer farms. Related content in Oxford Reference Reference Entries Oxford University Press Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.

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Question: What was ended by the Treaty of Vereeniging?
Answer: The (Second) Boer War